CHARLOTTE – Dan Morgan knows what he wants his corners to look like. When the Carolina Panthers promoted Morgan to president of football operations and general manager in early January, he began to talk about each position group with coach Dave Canales and defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. Together they sketched out a prototype of what the Panthers corners should be; they wanted them to be big, physical and have the ability to run.

"We talked about how we wanted to build this team and the type of profiles that we want by position, and we all came down to, you know, the size, the length, just guys with that athletic profile that we're looking for," Morgan explained Thursday morning, capping a week of roster moves that included four new corners.

"So, you know, we're really sticking to that, and I think as we continue to build, I think you'll see more and more of that."

The Panthers cornerbacks room saw perhaps the most turnover of any room over the last seven days. Morgan made a trade last Thursday, sending rookie linebacker Michael Barrett to the Seattle Seahawks, in exchange for veteran corner Mike Jackson. Then on Wednesday of this week, the team utilized their first spot in the pecking order on the waiver wire, grabbing former Buccaneers cornerback Keenan Isaac, former Jets cornerback Shemar Bartholomew and former Washington cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields.

Jackson is 6-1, 210 pounds, making him the biggest in the room. Bartholomew checks in at 6-1, 200 pounds—which for reference, matches him with Jaycee Horn. Castro-Fields stands at 6-1 and 197 pounds, while Isaac provides more length amongst the new faces, at 6-3, and 190 pounds.

As a comparison, before the new acquisitions, Horn was the only corner on the Panthers roster—active or what would become the practice squad players—that stood 6 feet or taller and weighed more than 190 pounds.

Corners are meant to be fast and scrappy. But as the Panthers put a greater emphasis on out-muscling opponents for the ball, they knew they needed, well, some "dawgs" on the outside as well. It has already started to show, with both Castro-Fields and Isaac bringing in picks during practice on Thursday.

— Bartholomew was someone who came onto the Panthers radar while hosting a joint practice with the Jets. The rookie corner was the most sought after on the waiver wire, with four teams putting in a claim (Panthers, Chargers, Chiefs and Saints).

Asked what he felt he showed the Panthers during that joint practice, Bartholomew said, "I was physical, and I made some couple run stops, play well in coverage as well. So I feel like that just shows I'm able to cover and tackle as well in a deep position."

Said Morgan, "I think when you bring corners in, with the size and the profile that we bought in yesterday, they're the type of guys we're looking for. You know, it's a big man's league.

"So, we want some big corners out there, that are physical, can run and do the type of things that we want to do from a schematic standpoint. So, we feel like we got better there on the big corners."

Getting better with the big corners also emphasized the motto with which Morgan plans to run this team; challenge yourself and each other to get better at every turn, even if it means making hard decisions.

"Turning the roster over, not being afraid to turn the roster over, challenge the roster at every single turn…I think that's the only way that you get better is that you got to constantly evolve," Morgan said. "You got to change things over, you got to challenge your roster and you got to challenge everything you do. Even us upstairs, we got to challenge our processes. We just got to challenge everything that we do.

"The turnover in the corner room, we felt like we needed to upgrade there. So retooling that room, bringing a different body style in that room, players that we, that fit more from a prototype standpoint of what we want."

— Jordan Matthews was not a part of the Carolina Panthers active roster for less than 48 hours. After being a victim of initial roster cuts on Tuesday, Matthews was signed to the practice squad on Wednesday and then elevated to the active roster on Thursday morning.

The veteran receiver turned tight end hauled in seven catches during the preseason, for 68 yards and a touchdown. When it came time to make the initial cuts, Canales said the Panthers weren't able to fit Matthews in the first wave "for our roster situation and the way we're doing it, that it didn't work out initially that way." But Ian Thomas hasn't practiced in weeks, and Tommy Tremble has been hampered by a hamstring, leaving their status for Week 1 up in the air. (Tremble did have his helmet at practice on Thursday but did not take part in any drills). That left the possibility of lone rookie Ja'Tavion Sanders to handle all tight end duties.

It meant the three-day stretch was "a roller coaster" for Matthews as Canales called it. But he was an easy addition to celebrate for the front office.

"Well, I think, first of all, like the type of guy that Jordan Matthews is, the work ethic, just the type of person, the type of husband, the type of dad, he fits that DNA that we're looking for," Morgan bragged on the tight end.

"He comes in, I mean, the guy does so much rehab, so much work on his body and to see him at 32 years old, perform the way that he's performed and, you know, you see him every day, he's out there, he's staying healthy, and he just looks great out there. So, I'm really proud of him and well deserved with him coming up to the 53."

— On Wednesday, Dave Canales indicated the pass rush position opposite Jadeveon Clowney was "up for grab still." The unit has been plagued by injuries, even ahead of offseason activities. As such, the Panthers are still closely watching D.J. Wonnum, Eku Leota and K'Lavon Chaisson.

On Thursday, Morgan did add, "obviously we're looking at that position still."

The team added another body to the room earlier in the week, claiming OLB Jamie Sheriff (Seahawks) off waivers. Sheriff had three sacks for Seattle during the preseason.

"He's got a great motor," Morgan said of Sheriff. But one addition does not a unit make, and echoing Canales' message, Morgan said the competition opposite Clowney is still open.

"We're excited about a lot of those guys opposite JD," Morgan said. "I think it's still an ongoing competition, I think somebody really needs to separate themselves over there. But I think we have a lot of guys that can do it together and do it right at the end of the day."

— Two of the six players claimed by the Panthers were from Seattle, outside linebacker Jamie Sheriff, and linebacker Jon Rhattigan. They haven't been able to join practice yet, which came down to their cross-country flight, Canales explained on Thursday.

"They had to kind of red eye it," the coach said. "So we just wanted to be smart about not getting them out there after being on a plane. They're just kind of going through the whole process today, with the medical staff and all that."

— The Panthers will take the weekend off, essentially treating it as a bye weekend before the regular season schedule takes over on Monday. Canales shared Thursday he is giving coaches and players the weekend to reconnect with their families. There's also an added benefit; they get away from each other.

"We're sick of each other, to be honest," Canales joked. "We've been working nonstop every day…we're starting to get on each other's nerves a little bit. So, absence makes the heart grow fonder."

Canales won't get to completely unplug from football though. He'll be on the sidelines for his son's 12-year-old football game. He won't be coaching though; "I've coached baseball in the past. Lizzie (his wife) fired me about three years ago. She said, 'no you don't get to do this. You just coached for six months."

You won't have to wait too long though coach. You'll be back on the sidelines with a headset in just a little over a week.